Staff report

Exactly 12,311 students showed up Tuesday for the first day of classes in Suffolk Public Schools,

That’s 3.5 percent more than the 11,888 students enrolled on the first day of school last year, said Bethanne Bradshaw, the school system’s spokeswoman.

First-day figures usually increase during the first few days of school, she said. Last year, citywide attendance jumped to 12,715 by the 10th day of classes.

&uot;It will go up every day for the first week,&uot; Bradshaw said. &uot;We expecting and anticipating growth in some schools.&uot;

Based on Tuesday’s figures, Lakeland and Nansemond River high schools’ student populations have grown the most, with an additional 200 and 100 students respectively, she said.